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The Great Gatsby Dinner Party

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Today I will finally talk about my best dinner party to date. I knew I wanted to do something special for The Great Gatsby movie's opening weekend. When big movies are coming out, we usually get a group together to go to dinner and then the movie. I had not planned a Girls Night Out for a while and I thought the Gatsby movie would be a great movie to see with a bunch of girls.

I talk to Melissa and we planned to have a small dinner party with cocktails, champagne, dinner and dessert at her place instead of going out to dinner. We thought it would be nicer and more intimate than a noisy restaurant. It also gave Melissa and I reason to cook for everyone.

First, we planned the menu and who was making what. I also had to add my love of paper in the diner so I even made menus for the party.

I made 3 Stuffed Red Snappers. I also made my favorite soup Roasted Butternut Squash. Melissa made Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans.

For dessert, I made a Lemon Bundt cake and Vanilla Ice Cream. Homemade ice cream is so good. Every time I make it Addison and JT are so happy. Luckily, I eneded up making a lot so I was able to bring some home.

I didn't want to just cook for the party. I also wanted to craft something. While thinking about my 20s outfit I wonder where I could purchase a headpiece. I decided instead of buying myself one I would make some for all the ladies attending the party. The wonderful world of Etsy, I bought the supplies and made these headpieces:

I love the way theses turned out and everyone loved them. Val said she was going to wear her to work the next week.

Jason was excited about the Gatsby movie also so he said he would like to attend the dinner and he would be bartender. Jason made an excellent bartender and loved being the only man with a group of beautiful ladies.

We also knew that everyone had to dress up in roaring 20s outfits and everyone did. Everyone showed up so beautiful in their Gatsby outfits ready to party.

And the group picture!!!

We had a blast!!! I can't wait until the next dinner party. I think there should be another theme. What do you think?

1st day of Summer Break and Tamales

Friday, May 24, 2013

School is out for summer!!! We spent the 1st day going to swim practice and then getting milk shakes. It's not that hot yet so I am enjoying the cool summer breeze before it gets crazy hot and we don't want to do anything. Addison has a busy schedule this summer but we are still going to enjoy some time together. Before I was in school but I only had a couple of classes so I was still able to spend time with him during the summer. When I get a full time job I am going to miss our summers together. I will have to remember that he is getting older and in 2 years he is not going to want to spend his summers with me. He will be driving around with his friends and hanging out with them. Well, I will take what I can get and this summer will be incredible.

I promised I would talk about everything you guys missed since I didn't post for a month. Let's talk about the Tamale Party first.

The Chosen One promised to teach me how to make homemade tamales. She learned from a friend and it was his Mexican grandmother's recipe. The Chosen One promised to fly to Atlanta for Cinco de Mayo and we would make tamales together. Well, that didn't happen but she did make it up to me. Since she couldn't make it to Atlanta, she set up a video chat class. She sent me a list of ingredients, that I got the day before. Then we woke up around 9 AM and started making tamales together via FaceTime. It was a lot of fun, until her phone fell in water and my phone fell in lard. But our phones our ok and that tamales were delicious.

I did have a major problem with having my dough float. The Chosen One whipped her stock, masa, and lard together with such ease. She dropped some dough in a glass of water and voilà it floats. My dough story was not that great. I whipped and whipped until my mixer started heating up and moving across the counter top. Dough was flying everywhere (I still probably have it in my kitchen after cleaning it many of times). I dropped my dough in a glass of water and sink. Whipped again....dropped in water....sink. Whipped again...dropped in water...sink. I was starting to get frustrated so we decided to add more lard. Then whipped again...dropped in water...sink. I then added more stock, whipped again...dropped in water...sink. Finally I found the right proportion of lard and stock, whipped again....dropped in water...float!!! I was so happy. The Chosen One not so much because I think it took me 30 minutes just to get my dough the float and she was waiting one me for the next step. Luckily, after the dough floats you can start making your tamales. So JT and Addison helped me wrap about 60 tamales in corn husks and then they were ready to steam.

The Chosen One warned me I was going to have a lot of tamales so I decided to invite people over to have a Cinco de Mayo party. Everyone came over around 6 PM and brought side dishes and beer. The tamales were ready on time and turned out good for my first try. Next time I would like to braise the pork before putting them in the tamales and master the dough. Everyone enjoyed the meal and we had great conversation. I also made a Trés Léché cake and an Espresso and Carmel flan.

I really enjoy cooking and having everyone over. I also realized in my perfect world I would love to throw or attend a dinner party every weekend. I need a bigger house and a bigger kitchen. :)

Here are some picture of the wonderful food:

Doesn't everything look delicious? Addison made the corn and bean salsa with Melissa's help. Melissa made the Spanish Rice and the Guacamole. And the power of electronics The Chosen One taught me how to make homemade tamales. Don't you love how electronics can help our lives?

Next, I will post about the Great Gatsby dinner party we had. Hey, better late than never.

Summer Pinwheels

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Sorry for being gone for so long. I needed to spend some time with Addison, then I started working part-time with JT, and then my computer needed to get fixed. I am back and still working part-time but have enough time to start blogging again. I have created so many things while I was gone. I have so much to share. From a Great Gatsby party to teacher gifts. This week I will try to catch you all up on everything. It has been a crafty month.

Summer is in the air. What does that mean? Weddings and parties. I have been making pinwheels for friend's parties for about a year. But this year I felt I really needed to brainstorm and make some fabulous pinwheels. I wanted to do more than just plain card stock. So I came up with these:

Georgia Map Pinwheel

Geometric Pinwheels

I am already brainstorming on more designs. I am already thinking about ones for the 4th of July.

And since I had pinwheels on the mind, I made felt pinwheel pins for Addison's teachers for Teacher Appreciation week.

I loved making Addison's teachers pins this year. Addison told me his science teacher wears all of her pins every day. I love that!

Addison is in his last week of school. Boy did this school year go by fast! We are getting ready for another busy summer. Summer diving and summer swimming. Addison is also attending a week long robotics camp. He is such a busy boy. I am excited about spending time together and creating things. He will be helping me with all the cooking and baking this summer. JT and Addison are also talking about taking a week long boys trip. I am alright staying at home in the air conditioning.

What do you have planned this summer? Well, I need to start on teacher gifts for the last day of school.

I am an computer and electrical engineer that has decided to be a stay at home mom. I found that cooking and crafting help me relax from the stress of the daily grind. Finding my passions has made me want to share what I love with others. Maybe this crafty engineer will go out in the workforce one day but for now I am happy being creative.